Transparent aluminum is finally here.

[chardman]

For real. Didn't see a thread, so here 'tis.

http://www.geekologie.com/2010/09/the_future_is_now_transparent.php

Looks real cool and...

Not now Madeline!

 

[P0sitr0nic]

Wow... yet another leap toward the future!

 

[Trekker4747]

This stuff has been around for years and is hardly the same thing as material we hear about in Trek. The stuff in Trek was a metal that came with all of the advantages being a metal has. This stuff is more like a ceramic.

 

[FPAlpha]

When you think about it it really is amazing what's possible in labs today.. i've heard about data storage by using simple scotch tape written in by a laser and now this.

It's a shame that such technologies tend to need at least 10-20 years to be fully integrated in our lives but i look forward to computers i can fold up in my wallet and then spread it out like a sheet of paper and have a nice computer screen.

Technologically the future will be great.

 

[Christopher]

Ohh, not this again. This has cropped up every couple of months for the past several years, because for some reason nobody remembers the many previous times it was trumpeted on the Internet as some miraculous "new" breakthrough.

This is not "transparent aluminum." It is a transparent form of alumina, a compound of aluminum and oxygen, also known as corundum or emery. It's the stuff that rubies and sapphires are made of, so it's really no surprise that it's transparent. It's not metal, it's glass. Just as normal glass is made from silica, a compound of silicon and oxygen, so this type of glass is made from alumina. Alumina is not aluminum any more than water is hydrogen.

Now, it is a very impressive kind of glass, strong enough to work as armor. It could conceivably fill the role that "transparent aluminum" fills in Trek, a very strong glasslike substance. But it is not aluminum and it is not a metal. And it is not new.

 

[Myasishchev]

Ohh, not this again.

Seriously.

And anyway, aluminium oxyntride is where it's at. I think that could actually be used as a structural material, but don't possess the engineering background to really determine, although my impression is highly polished alon is better than alumina in many applications (particularly transparent armor).

And someone tell this spellcheck "aluminium" is the correct way to spell it.

 

[Lindley]

And someone tell this spellcheck "aluminium" is the correct way to spell it.

I guess the spellcheck doesn't know British variants. "Aluminum" is correct in the US.

 

[RobertVA]

A lot of people know that British and American spelling differ, but it's hard to keep track of who is where when the user's "location:" field is blank or contains something that has no relationship to their actual location.

I'm a little skeptical about future spacecraft and/or submarines having large windows. Any lighting inside is going to have the combined effect of causing reflections on the window and making the people's eyes adjust to the interior lighting, making all but nearby planets and the local star to faint to see. When in orbit around a planet the constant shifting of light and frequent sunsets/sunrises a large unshuttered window would quickly prove to be an annoyance in someone's sleeping and living quarters.

For most activities darkness and/or water clarity make windows in submarines useless. Much of the time there would be nothing but water near enough for anyone to see. Windows usually come into play when the crew is conducting some sort of wreck debris study/recovery, undersea facility maintenance or sea floor biological survey.

 

[SchwEnt]

Also, I would imagine the windows of the future would be different aboard submarines and starships. At the least, polarized like sunglasses of today, adjusting to compensate for varying conditions outside and inside alike. This would alleviate the problems mentioned above.

And as far as Galaxy-class type windows in spaceships, I was always kinda disappointed with those. By the 24th c, I'd imagine something more than just basically... windows. Especially with transporter and replicator technology.Maybe something like windows that can materialize whenever and wherever desired on the hull, in whatever shape you'd like. Say the hull over someone's quarters is designed to accomodate this. One could customize whatever windows were desired. Two large viewports, five circular, one large rectangular, none at all, etc.
Not too far out for TNG tech, right?
Variable geometry window technology. Whatever.